The Aztec
civilization may never rise again, but part of its ancient legacy may be a
gift of better health to those who have rediscovered the secret of its
prized "running food."

In the annals of
nutrition history, the last half-century may well be considered the age of the
super-grains. Starting in the 1960s, Dr. Norman Borlaug developed
disease-resistant dwarf wheat and sparked the "Green Revolution" in Asia; Purdue
University researchers discovered opaque-2 maize, with the mutation that doubles
the protein value of corn; and Canadian researchers developed triticale, the
long-sought cross between barley and wheat. But what may be the most functional
of all the super-grains still remains virtually unknown. It is the tiny seed of
the Salvia Hispanica L. plant, better known as chia, the same plant family used
to grow furry foliage on those popular chia pets.

In chia's previous, more glorious existence, it served as the power food of the
ancient Aztec civilization. According to Spanish manuscripts, the Aztecs ate the
seeds of this semitropical plant to improve their endurance. They called chia
their "running food" because messengers reportedly could run all day on just a
handful. The Aztecs prized chia more highly than gold. They even used it as
medicine. When the Aztec civilization ended, the much-vaunted grain fell into
relative obscurity. Now, after half a millennium, chia is poised for a comeback
in something other than a pottery animal.

Scientists investigating chia since the 1990s have found the grain surprisingly
nutritious. Superior in protein quality to wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley,
amaranth and soy, chia also offers a disease-fighting arsenal of antioxidants,
including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, myricetin, quercetin and flavonols. Of
keenest interest at present, however, is chia's abundance of omega-3 fatty
acids, which studies have shown promote a wide range of cardiovascular and
mental health benefits. Chia turns out to be the highest known wholefood source
of omega-3s.

Dr. Vladimir Vuksan, a pioneer of the functional foods movement in Europe and
one of the developers of the revolutionary glycemic index at the University of
Toronto, recently conducted the first long-term study of chia's health effects.
He and his colleagues used a commercial variety of chia called Salba, developed
especially to produce white, rather than the original black, seed and a more
reliable omega-3 content of about 60 percent.

In their six-month study of type 2 diabetes patients, the researchers found
impressive health effects from eating Salba daily. In patients who already were
on diets or medication to control their disease, Salba lowered systolic blood
pressure by 10 and diastolic by five mm mercury. It also reduced c-reactive
protein (CRP) levels by 32 percent and lowered fibrinolytic (blood thickening)
factors, which can trigger cardiovascular disease.

"These were huge discoveries rarely seen in medical literature, even with the
most powerful and combined pharmacological therapies," Dr. Vuksan explains. "Ten
over five is a major blood pressure reduction; there aren't many studies showing
this effect."

"We asked ourselves, why is this happening?." Dr. Vuksan says. "Then we
remembered one of the things from history, that Aztecs used chia seeds as a
'running food.' So we thought that maybe something [about chia] was helping the
body to function better. We measured the body inflammation, the so-called
c-reactive protein, which has been discovered as a major risk factor for heart
disease, even more important than cholesterol, according to studies from
Harvard. This was one of the rarest studies in the world, showing that CRP
dropped about 32 percent in type 2 diabetics who were heavily medicated and well
controlled," he continues. "The only other major studies showing a reduction in
CRP have been done with statin drugs."

The researchers also looked at fibrinolytic factors. "The thickness of blood can
determine heart problems," Dr. Vuksan says. "We actually found some of the major
fibrinolytic factors, like factor VIII (linked to von Willebrand's disease) and
fibrinogen, were significantly reduced after Salba. We also measured bleeding
time because, as you know, if you are thinning blood, you want to see whether
the patient will bleed more. We measured three factors, and there was no change
with Salba whatsoever. We concluded that basically Salba is a functional food
that has a health effect in diabetic individuals."